Photos by Reuters/Damage caused by Cyclone Nargis
Myanmar (MNN) ― Foreign aid is pouring into Myanmar after the country's deadliest storm on record. Days after the deluge, over 20,000 dead were reported, with twice that many unaccounted for.
There were a few hundred deaths in the former capital city of Yangon, but a larger tragedy there was averted because of sturdier shelters throughout the area.
Not so for the rural areas. Bamboo huts provided shelter for many of the people there. As a result, government officials believe most of the deaths took place in the delta's swamplands. As many as 1 million people may have been left homeless.
AMG International's Roger Thomas says communication with outlying partners is still down. "They have not yet heard from the rural area where the Bible school is, where our children's centers are, and the disability center is, so we don't yet know about those."
With needs so dire, AMG has already launched a response. "They have started relief work for the people in the city. The most important things there were drinking water and rice for the people. The prices have gone up, particularly gasoline." In some cases, Thomas reports their partner says the prices have tripled black market prices, especially fuel.
The United Nations sent more than $10 million worth of aid, but a lack of specialized equipment slowed distribution.
Thomas says their aid is part of long-term ministry vision. This is an area that has been notably hostile to the Gospel. He says trouble with harassment in one area forced them to close a sponsorship program.
However, "This gives us an open door because the people know it's the love of Christ that constrains us to go help them." Thomas says their team purchased generators and gave them to the local Buddhist monks to aid them in their relief efforts. Why?
Aside from the monks being influential in the region, they wanted to be a living message. "We're not after anything; we just simply want to show God's love to them and help them. They respond, they want to know why, they want to know more about what makes us do that and about the person that makes us do that."
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